Whitman community considers cell tower

Deal could bring $2,000 a month for schools

Bethesda residents with T-Mobile cell phone service could get a boost this year if a plan to build a cellular antenna at Walt Whitman High School is approved.

The plan would bring a 120-foot antenna to the school's campus off Whittier Boulevard.

"It's still a little bit up in the air at this point, but we're discussing it," said Whitman PTSA President Sue Kanter. "I think everyone's still trying to figure things out."

T-Mobile proposed the plans to the Whitman community at a Nov. 17, 2009 PTSA meeting, said company spokesman Jason Campbell. The tower is needed in the area to improve service, which can be spotty at times in the west Bethesda neighborhood, Campbell said.

The Whitman PTSA is expected to vote on the matter in the next two or three months, Kanter said. If the PTSA approves the plan, it would then need to be approved by Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast.

Whitman Principal Alan Goodwin has tried to stay neutral in the debate, but recognized that there is a need for a cell tower in the area.

"Since I've been in the community, I've continually heard complaints from staff and parents about the lack of cell service from the area around the school," he said. "And to be honest, if I didn't think this was a worthwhile proposal I wouldn't have let the T-Mobile officials on campus."

Goodwin added that some parents are concerned about the possible detrimental health effects of a cell tower, but said that amount of radio waves coming from the proposed tower would be significantly less than the waves emitted from an existing tower further down River Road.

Ten MCPS schools currently have cell towers, including Sherwood, Albert Einstein and Springbrook high schools and Tilden Middle School, according to Dana Tofig, an MCPS spokesman. The towers serve various service providers, including Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.

Each provider pays the school district rent for the space, which varies by location and changes in the Consumer Price Index, Tofig said. The Whitman tower would bring in $2,000 a month, which would be divided evenly between MCPS, Whitman, and Whitman's cluster schools.

Kanter said the PTSA has begun preliminary discussions on what to do with the prospective funds, but no decisions have been made.

The Whitman tower would be built where a light pole currently sits on campus, adjacent to the school's baseball field. The tower would be made to replicate a light pole, and would also house lighting for the field.

"This site is a good location for us because of the fact that we can use an existing structure at the high school as a support structure," Campbell said. "It's a win-win: They're provided school revenue and we're able to provide a greater service to our customers."

Campbell added that T-Mobile has already filed a zoning application for the new tower, which would join the more than 200 antennas T-Mobile already operates in Montgomery County.

Other service providers could join on the antenna as well, Campbell said, allowing for greater cell phone reception for more customers in the future.